The Development of the Control System for the Cryogenics in the LHC Tunnel

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was commissioned at CERN and started operation with beams in 2008. The LHC makes extensive use of superconductors, in magnets, electrical feed boxes and accelerating cavities, which are operated at cryogenic temperatures. The process automation for the cryogenic distribution around the 27 km accelerator circumference is based on 18 Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs); overall, they handle 4 000 control loops and 8 000 alarms and interlocks; 16 000 cryogenic sensors and actuators are accessed through industrial field networks. This paper reviews the control system architecture and the main hardware and software components; presents the hardware commissioning and software production methodologies; and illustrates some of the problems faced during development, commissioning and nominal cryogenics operation, together with the solutions applied.